Serie A KO’d in Race for Fifth Champions League Team | OneFootball

Serie A had slim chances to mount a comeback for the second position in the seasonal UEFA, which grants a fifth Champions League participant, to begin with. They ended once and for all as Lazio were eliminated on PKs by Bodo/Glimt, Corriere dello Sport relays.

Premier League had already clinched a top-two berth. La Liga did it on Thursday. Athletic Club defeated Rangers Glasgow in the second-tier cup, while Betis got past Jagiellonia Bialystok in the Conference League.

The Biancocelesti bowing out also ensures that Serie A won’t have a fifth Champions League representative by winning the Europa League. Roma lost to the Basque side in the previous round.

The Italian championship didn’t exploit its advantage this campaign. Bologna exited the top continental competition in the group stage. Instead, Juventus, Milan, and Atalanta didn’t make it past the playoffs despite manageable match-ups.

Inter, which will soon take on Barcelona, and Fiorentina, which survived the return leg versus Celje, are the only teams from the Peninsula still alive in Europe.

The expected turn of events, as things were headed this way for a couple of months, will further spice up the Champions League race down the stretch in Serie A. Only two among Atalanta, Juventus, Bologna, Lazio, Roma, Fiorentina, and Milan will qualify. The Rossoneri are barely in the fray, considering they have an eight-point gap from fourth place. One or two won’t play in any international competition, unless the Viola win the Conference League and finish outside of the top six and depending on who will win the Coppa Italia.